The Turkmenian fox (''Vulpes vulpes flavescens''), also known as the Persian fox, is an Asiatic subspecies of red fox distinguished by its very small size and primitive cranial features. It inhabits the

Middle Asia Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

n plains and approximately south of latitude of

Ustyurt Plateau The Ustyurt or Ust-Yurt (from kk, Үстірт; uz, Ustyurt; tk, Üstyurt; — flat hill, plateau) is a transboundary clay desert shared by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The plateau's semi-nomadic population raises sheep, goats, an ...

and the Aral Sea, as well as contiguous parts of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

Physical description

Compared to its northern cousins, the skull of the Turkmenian fox has a relatively large cranium with a weakly developed sagittal crest. Overall, the skull is much more

paedomorphic Neoteny (), also called juvenilization,Montagu, A. (1989). Growing Young. Bergin & Garvey: CT. is the delaying or slowing of the physiological, or somatic, development of an organism, typically an animal. Neoteny is found in modern humans compare ...

than that of northern foxes. It is the smallest subspecies of red fox inhabiting Eurasia; adults attain a body length of , a tail length of , an ear length of and a weight of . Unlike most other red fox subspecies, the Turkmenian fox either completely lacks reddish colour tones, or has in their place only light, sandy yellow tones. Generally, dull-yellowish or grey tones predominate. The head is sandy or yellowish-creamy in colour, with a whitish muzzle. A dark grey, reddish-brown or blackish-brown band is present in front of the eyes. The outer surface of the ears are either pure black or brownish-black. A cross-like figure is formed by overlapping yellow or brownish tones on the upper neck, back and shoulders. The flanks are usually grey, and are typically more brightly coloured than the back. The throat, chest and belly are whitish or grey. The feet are grey with dark stripes. It is not overly exploited by the fur trade, its fur being ten times cheaper than that of northern foxes.

Behaviour

It primarily feeds on Afghan voles. When these are scarce, it will target

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s such as

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s and grasshoppers. Plant food eaten by the Turkmenian fox includes pistachios,

caper ''Capparis spinosa'', the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers. The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), used as a seasoning ...

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varie ...

, various

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

es and

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s. Unlike most other red fox subspecies, the Turkmenian fox often hunts during the day, thus coinciding with the activity patterns of

great gerbil The great gerbil (''Rhombomys opimus'') is a large rodent found throughout much of Central Asia. Description The largest of the gerbils, great gerbils have a head and body length of . Their skulls are distinctive by having two grooves in each i ...

s. It may build temporary burrows in its desert environment, dug with an entrance facing south in order to shield itself from northerly winds. Turkmenian fox burrows have 3–5 entrances, but those located in appropriated gerbil colonies may have up to 15. Its reproduction is much more prolonged than that of northern foxes; pairs are formed in November, and begin mating throughout December and January. Kits are born in February–March.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q7855432 Vulpes